Monthly Archives: August 2014

Several clever machinations have been implemented for the game Minecraft. These often include circuits and devices that mimic their real-world counterparts. They even include complete calculators and computer sub-systems (eg ECC memory and ALUs). Perhaps one of the more compelling inventions is the addition of Morse code operations. There are numerous implementations, all of which are interesting and a few are excellent.

Often in the 18th and 19th centuries, ‘semaphores’ or codes were played with in an attempt to communicate over longer distances than the human voice could carry. With the rapid development of electricity and magnetism theory and practice in the early 1800s, the time was ripe for the telegraph. In 1837, Samuel Morse et al demonstrated a working telegraph setup in America (there were earlier versions in Europe). The principle was that codes tapped on a mechanical key would be converted to electrical signals, then sent along a wire to another key at the other end which would receive (repeat) the code. Since this transmission happened at almost the speed of light, communication at a distance became essentially instantaneous. Later refinements to and extensions of this principle led to the telephone, radio, television, and of course the Internet.

Why is Morse a good fit for Minecraft ? Basically, it is in keeping with Minecraft’s quaint and minimalist nature. Crafting rudimentary equipment and stringing telegraph wires matches this game (it’s simple and fun). Minecraft already has support for elementary circuits and power via “Redstone”. Morse code is at home in a rustic world of dirt, stone, and wood. You can’t get much more binary and ‘blocky’ than a string of dots and dashes. In contrast, popup chat windows are harshly anachronistic. Telegraphy also fits in well with Minecraft’s ‘bootstrapping’ model; you don’t absolutely require it, but it speeds gameplay and opens up new possibilities once the technology is achieved.

Educational use of Minecraft benefits greatly from this bootstrapping model. Finding, crafting, and mastering tools and gadgets, and thus learning as you go is half the story. Exploring endlessly rich and surprising 3D worlds is the other half.

Also, learning a language is never a bad thing, and Morse code is one of the simplest ‘languages’ there is. Telegraphy is laden with historical significance, another opportunity for learning.

What are the possible uses for telegraphy within Minecraft ? First, as I said, it’s a more primitive alternative to text chat windows in multi-player modes. Next, it would enable the transfer of information across distance, for example maybe a crude sort of ‘fax machine’ for maps, books, signs, etc. Next, automated beacons could be built, perhaps they might even show up on maps. Next, remote control of processes and apparatus would extend the player’s reach. Next, short messages could be written right into the landscape (for example dirt for dots and stone for dashes). How about time capsules or ‘notes to self’ ?

So, Morse code would fit very well into the Minecraft world and mindset, with many novel and fun uses. The educational benefits of this addition would be welcome and easily realized.

There are several ways to categorize programming languages. One is to distinguish between applicative and concatenative evaluation. Most languages are applicative – functions are applied to data. In contrast, a concatenative language moves a single store of data or knowledge along a ‘pipeline’ with a sequence of functions each operating on the store in turn. The output of one function is the input of the next function, in a ‘threaded’ fashion. This sequence of functions is the program. Forth is an example of a concatenative language, with the stack serving as the data store that is passed along the thread of functions (‘words’). “Forth is a simple, natural computer language” – Charles Moore, inventor of Forth.

One of the great advantages of concatenative languages is the opportunity for extreme simplicity. Since each function really only needs to know about its own input, machinery, and output, there is a greatly reduced need for overall architecture. The big picture, or state, of the entire program is neither guiding nor informing each step. As long as a function can read, compute, and write, it can be an entity unto itself, with little compliance or doctrine to worry about. In fact, in Forth, beyond the stack and the threaded execution model, there’s precious little doctrine anyway! Program structure is a simple sequence, with new words appended to the list (concatenated). The task of the programmer is just to get each word right, then move on to the next.

In nature, the concatenative approach is the only game in town. Small genetic changes occur due to several causes, random mutation being one of them. Each change is then put through the survivability sieve of natural selection, with large changes accumulating over large time scales (evolution). (Evolution is active across the entire spectrum of abstraction levels. Hierarchies emerge naturally, not through doctrine or design.) Concatenation is the way by which these small changes are accumulated. Much of the epic and winding road of human evolution is recorded in our DNA, which is billions of letters long.

This process can be seen happening right now in molecular biology. Consider the ribosome. This is the little machine inside a cell that reads a piece of RNA (a chain of nucleotides) and translates it into a protein (a chain of amino acids). There is no Master Control Program assigning names, delegating work, and applying functions. There is only a concatenative program, built up over the ages by evolution. So, basic life uses a fairly powerful and successful form of computation: DNA for storage, RNA for code, ribosome for computing, protein for application.
(and natural selection for testing) 🙂

We flatter ourselves when we talk of our ‘invention’ of levers, gears, factories, and computers. Nature had all that stuff and much more long before we ever came down from the trees. Math, engineering, and science are great not because of their products, but rather because they enable 3-pound hominid brains to explore nature and ponder the possibilities.